Tag Jamie Linehan

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Silva Switch” Review (Musical Number!)

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Musical group shot, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Silva SwitchSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E18 – “The Silva Switch”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: June 23, 2020 (UK), November 14, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: A lab accident switches Nate and Steel’s bodies.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Within the first few minutes, I was fairly certain I was going to be disappointed in this episode. Not because it’s a body-switch episode, but because they swapped Nate and Steel’s voices as well as their bodies. In other words, Abraham Rodriguez (Nate) has his voice dubbed over by Jamie Linehan (Steel), while Rodriguez’s voice is coming out of Steel’s body. I was looking forward to seeing how Rodriguez would inhabit that Steel character, both physically and vocally. So to not get the whole package in that respect was a let-down.

However…

At about the 7:30 mark, from out of absolutely nowhere, the show dives into its first ever Broadway-style musical number, complete with singing and choreographed dancing. I had no idea it was coming and was absolutely blown away. It’s not brief, either. It goes on for almost two minutes on the dot.

Nate, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Silva Switch

I have a new respect for Abraham Rodriguez after seeing this sequence, as he had to be the centerpiece to the whole thing. It’s obviously not him singing. But he pulls off all the physicality and the dancing seamlessly. I can’t find anything that indicates he’s been in musicals before. But the dude was such a natural that you’ve got to believe he at least did it in school at some point.

I’m wondering, however, if he’s not a singer. That might explain why they had Jamie Linehan dub over his dialogue in the episode. That way Linehan, who’s obviously a voice actor, could carry the vocal portion and allow Rodriguez to focus on the other elements of the performance.

Is the whole thing pretty hokey? Absolutely. Did it win an Emmy, or even a Kid’s Choice Award? Nope. But when you can break new ground on a show that’s been around for 25-plus years it’s usually a good thing. No one was expecting, or for that matter calling for, a musical scene in Power Rangers. But this team took the concept, ran with it, and made it into one of the highlights of the entire series. Bravo.

They actually did make me feel sad for Steel when it was time for he and Nate to switch their bodies back. Dude loved being human enough to break out into friggin’ song. We should all love something that much.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Finders Keepers” Review (Dino Charge Team-Up!)

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Devon, Tyler, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Finders KeepersSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E13 – “Finders Keepers”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
GUEST-STARRING: Brennan Mejia, James Davies, Yoshi Sudarso, Davi Santos, Camille Hyde (Voice), Michael Taber (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Denise Downer
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: June 16, 2020 (UK), October 10, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: A scramble ensues for possession of Ryjack’s villainous artifacts.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Keeper (who we know from Dino Charge) arrives to search for Ryjack’s villainous artifacts amid the wreckage of his ship, and Ravi remarks that he recognizes him from “Ranger History Class.” They have to take a class?!? Who teaches said class? Presumably a Ranger alum, right?

Actually, you know who’d be a really fitting teacher? Alpha 6. Or if they really wanted to go old school, Alpha 5.

This episode doesn’t do Zoey any favors. Granted, part of the story is her learning a lesson about rushing into things. But she still looks pretty stupid running headlong into a strange spaceship. Then you’ve got her slapping Keeper with the compliance collar. Didn’t she take Ranger History Class too? Wouldn’t she know who Keeper is, what he looks like, etc?

Among the objects in Ryjack’s collection are: Lord Zedd’s staff, Goldar’s sword, and Sledge’s blaster. Mind you, those are merely the items I immediately recognized. How Ryjack got these various items is a question for fanfiction. For instance, one could reasonably make the point that Zedd’s staff and Goldar’s sword were destroyed by the Zordon wave at the end of “Countdown to Destruction.” But one could just as easily assume that Zedd had more than one staff, Goldar had more than one sword, etc. Remember, a lot of these guys had been around for millions of years…

This episode leaves something to be desired as far as telling us who the Dino Charge Rangers are. It more or less assumes the viewer knows them coming in. As someone who, as of this writing, has not seen Dino Charge, that kind of sucks. It does a disservice to the characters. I had no idea, for instance, that the Dino Charge Gold Ranger is apparently a knight from the 13th century. I can only imagine certain people’s confusion as to why the Blue Ranger is talking like a cave man…

Though in all fairness, “Finders Keepers” has a lot to accomplish for one episode. So there’s not necessarily time to explore character dynamics with the Dino Charge team. However, it would have been nice to at least formally get their names. I’ve had to do a little bit of background research just to get them myself.

On the subject of returning Rangers, Camille Hyde (who plays Shelby, Dino Charge Pink) and Michael Taber (Riley, Dino Charge Green) were apparently unable to return in person for this episode, but did do voice cameos. That’s really nice, and not something to be taken for granted. As we’ll see in the next couple of episodes, it’s a luxury we won’t always have.

During the truck chase sequence, which consists mostly (if not entirely) of Sentai footage, we briefly see a street sign in Japanese (shown above). That isn’t a big deal to me. But that kind of thing is usually edited out of Power Rangers episodes. I’d be curious to know why they didn’t do it here.

This episode also features the unheralded, and not even acknowledged return of the Triptoids from Dino Thunder. They’re simply there for no apparent reason during the fight scene when the Dino Charge Rangers show up. A line or two introducing them would have been nice. But again, there isn’t necessarily time in this episode. 

“Finders Keepers” sees the Reanimizer revive Sledge, Snide, and a few other villains from Dino Charge. And they’re still around at the end of the episode. And yet, after the immediate threat has passed, Keeper and the Dino Charge Rangers hightail it back to their dimension, saying they’re needed there. From an in-story standpoint, I call BS on that. Keeper, Tyler, or somebody from the Dino Charge side of things could have stayed behind to help or advise the Beast Morphers team. Thanks for the help, ya jerks…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Secret Struggle” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Zoey, Nate, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Secret StruggleSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E9 – “Secret Struggle”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: April 25, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Steel tries to play matchmaker with Nate and Zoey.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Here we have the latest in what I’ll refer to as Beast Morphers‘ sequel episodes, i.e. episodes that follow up on plot threads from the first season. “Artist Anonymous” was, of course, a sequel to “Gorilla Art.” “Sound and Fury” got a sequel episode with “Beast King Rampage.” Now, this episode once again follows up on “Sound and Fury” by forwarding the Nate and Zoey romance.

After Steel finds out Nate and Zoey like each other, he flat out asks: “What’s the harm in dating?” Kind of an obvious question, isn’t it? Especially if you’re versed in your superhero media. Having romantic feelings for one of your teammates can impair your judgment in the field.

It makes me wonder: Are police officers and firefighters allowed to date one another? Assuming they work closely, of course. I imagine that, much like in the fantasy world of Power Rangers, it’s something that’s not necessarily encouraged. But what can you really do to stop it?

Zoey, Nate, image 2, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Secret Struggle

I visibly cringed when they had Nate and Zoey recreate the famous pasta moment from Lady and the Tramp. Between that, and the picnic bit with Ravi and Roxy back in “Believe It Or Not,” Power Rangers is embracing romance at its most stereotypical and superficial. It’s not the worst thing for a kids show to do. But it’s disappointing. If you go back at look at the more memorable romances in the show’s history (Tommy and Kimberly, Andros and Ashley, Wes and Jen, or even Ollie and Amelia in Dino Fury) they rarely if ever had to do any of that. You can do romance on a kids show without diving into that kind of thing. That approach almost seems lazy, truth be told.

I came into Beast Morphers under the mistaken impression that Nate and Zoey were going to get to kiss at some point. Obviously, I was mistaken. Are Tommy and Kimberly the only couple in the history of this show to get a proper kiss? If not, they definitely have the most notable one. And that was almost 30 years ago. It was the early ’90s, man. A different time.

I love how, in an attempt to prevent himself from overheating, the Blue Ranger uses a little hand-held fan. It’s hokey, and of course would never work. But it’s a funny visual.

Also funny? In the closing moments of the episode, as Evox/Mayor Daniels is running out of the building, all the good guys get briefly trapped behind the revolving door. Was that intentional? It must have been. Though in the Rangers’ defense, revolving doors do suck like that…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Boxed In” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E8 – “Boxed In”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Cameron Dixon, Maiya Thompson, James Collins
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: April 18, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Devon and the Red Racer Zord are forced to run a Gigarone gauntlet.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I can’t even tell you how big a kick I get out of this episode being centered around the Pan Global Games, in essence the PR universe equivalent to the Olympics. From a writing standpoint, the games were simply used as a way to write Kimberly off the show way back in season three. And yet here we are talking about them more than 25 years later in season 27. As a long time fan, that attention to detail is really cool to see.

Speaking of the Olympics, I assume this episode was scheduled to coincide with the the 2020 Summer Olympics. Which of course, thanks to COVID-19, didn’t happen. Not on time, at least.

Wait…the Rangers themselves have to check the various Morph-X towers in Coral Harbor? Again, I find myself asking: Doesn’t Grid Battleforce have workers that can do that sort of thing?

I suspect there are some folks behind the scenes at Power Rangers who are wrestling fans. We see a Powerbomb and other wrestling moves used in this episode. Also, the commentator borrows several catchphrases Jim Ross or Michael Cole have been known to use on WWE programming, including…
– “He’s tougher than a $2 steak!”
– “Vintage Alphadrone!”
– “Business is about to pick up, here!”

The zord action in this episode was a step up from what we usually see. I suspect I’m biased toward it because of the lack of CGI sequences. They used the heck out of those zord and Gigadrone suits.

Ravi was a massive dick in this episode. I mean, I get it. That’s his arc. He has to be selfish about wanting to see the games, and then apologize for it at the end. But still. I mean, damn dude…

The other Rangers get caught in traffic, and thus are delayed in coming to help Devon as he’s trapped in the bizarre pocket dimension. I’ve posed this question before. But I’ll do it again: Do the Rangers not have a working teleporter? It’d be a heck of a time saver. Just sayin’.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Blame Game” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Steel, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Blame GameSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E6 – “The Blame Game”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: April 4, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Steel takes lessons in discipline a little too far.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

The inciting incident for this episode is when Steel sees a father punish his daughter for littering by telling her to pick up extra pieces of trash. His initial instinct is to say that the father is being mean, but the Rangers quickly explain to him what punishment and discipline are.

The funny thing about this is that the way the incident plays off, Steel is actually right the first time. The father does come off disproportionately harsh about his daughter letting a single piece of trash fall to the ground. I say that as a parent myself. And the funny thing? Steel proceeds to act disproportionately harsh about matters of discipline for the rest of the episode. So if the Rangers had been paying attention from the start, a whole big mess could have been avoided.

Steel goes on to punish workers at Grid Battleforce for very minor infractions by having them sweep the parking lot, clean toilets, etc. Do the Rangers really hold rank over grunt workers like that? Do they actually have the authority to tell someone to clean toilets? If so, why? Or are the workers just intimidated by a robot Power Ranger making demands of them like that?

Ben and Betty, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Blame Game

Betty says that the leaf blower she and Ben are using “sucks.” She might be the first person in the show’s history to say that something sucks. I’d thought that distinction went to Izzy a couple seasons from now. But Betty may have beaten her to the punch.

Incidentally, if Bulk and Skull had done that Morph-X powered leaf blower bit back in Mighty Morphin, it totally would have ended with Bulk’s pants being vacuumed off his body. Oh, how times have changed.

Controlatron takes control of Cole, and subsequently Nate, using what Blaze refers to as a “virus-infected puppet.” That terms sounds like something you’d call someone when you want to insult them. “Dude, you’re just a virus-infected puppet!”

Abraham Rodriguez, who plays Nate, had a tall task in motivating that “I’m a good little puppet” line. Perhaps note quite as hard as his “I copy that” line in “Real Steel.” But still…

Back in “Save Our Shores,” I wondered how the show would handle the co-existence of Blaze and Roxy with their robot counterparts. Apparently the show’s answer to that dichotomy is to simply not feature the good versions of Blaze and Roxy at all. Have we even seen them since?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Believe It Or Not” Review

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E1 – “Believe It Or Not”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: February 22, 2020
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers uncover Scrozzle’s latest plot.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The opening moments of this episode, with Devon and Blaze sparring, are a nice callback to “Beasts Unleashed,” when they obviously had a very different relationship. It’s a nice indicator of how far they’ve come, and how things have changed since last season.

We see that France now has its own Morph-X tower. Naturally, that begs the question as to what other places around the world opted to get one. Coral Harbor has several, doesn’t it? So if France has one, they’d presumably be getting more.

The first time we see Ravi and Roxy in this episode, they’re on a picnic and she’s literally feeding him a strawberry. Let no one ever accuse Beast Morphers of being subtle with the whole romance thing.

This is the last time we’ll see them, but I like the Gigatronics. I think more villains should have had giant-sized versions of their henchmen. Giant Cogs in Zeo would have been cool, for instance.

This episode plays up the idea that Steel is buying into conspiracy theories. Bigfoot, the Lochness monster, etc. But in the end, we learn he was right all along. Not sure I would have gone with that moral in this particular case. Especially when you consider how many people in this country buy into crazy conspiracy theories. Does Q’Anon exist in the Power Rangers universe? Boy, I hope not…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Hypnotic Halloween” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Cast Halloween shot, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Hypnotic HalloweenSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E21 – “Hypnotic Halloween”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson, James Collins, Cameron Dixon
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: October 19, 2019
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers are hypnotized into believing they are their Halloween characters.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Here we have one of our season-requisite holiday clip shows. The “Rangers think they’re their Halloween characters” thing is a creative framing device, though.

This episode aired on October 19, which would seem to indicate it chronologically falls between “Tuba Triumph” and “Sound and Fury.” But oddly enough, every source I’ve checked lists it as the 21st episode of the season. Perhaps that’s indicative of the order the episodes were produced in…?

Hold on, so Steel wasn’t effected by Vargoyle rewriting the memories of everyone in Coral Harbor, but he’s effected by Scrozzle’s hypnotic streaming service? Doesn’t necessarily make sense from an in-universe perspective. But if you let Steel stay coherent, this episode starts to feel a lot like “Rewriting History.” So I guess we’ll let it slide.

Viking Zoey, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Hypnotic Halloween

This episode feels like it was a lot of fun to make. Particularly for Jacqueline Scislowski, whose loud and boistrous Viking character was a radical departure from the often shy Zoey.

Speaking of Vikings, was Rorrie D. Travis channeling Sean Connery for his Viking impression? Is he even old enough to know who Sean Connery is?

Jazz Baduwalia might have needed some more direction as Sherlock Holmes. It seems like he was told, “Just look through the magnifying glass a lot. That’ll make you look like Sherlock Holmes. I mean, he always did that, right?”

Here’s how much of an old school Power Rangers geek I am: I remembered that Billy also dressed up as Sherlock Holmes way back in the season one episode “Life’s a Masquerade.” Also Tommy, much like Steel in this episode, dressed as Frankenstein. Actually, Billy dressed as a mad scientist in season two’s “Zedd’s Monster Mash,” much like Nate does in this episode. Deliberate homage? More likely, it’s a sign that stock Halloween costumes haven’t changed much in two decades…

You know who would have been perfect for this episode? Ben and Betty. And yet, they weren’t here for whatever reason.

This was actually a pretty intense zord fight for a clip show. Nicely done.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Rewriting History” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Rozy, Blaze, Ravi, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Rewriting HistorySERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E18 – “Rewriting History”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: November 23, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Vargoyle alters the memories of everyone in Coral Harbor, but Steel is unaffected.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Steel: “I can totally take care of a pet on my own. Remember, I have animal DNA in me. I’ll be a natural!” Just as a reminder, Steel does not in fact have animal DNA in him. He has scarab beetle DNA in him. A beetle is an insect. Just sayin…

I will say though, that watching a six-foot tall robot dote on a potted plant (to show he could care for a pet) was unexpectedly hilarious.

Jamie Linehan voices Steel, as well as Vargoyle. This episode puts them in a scene together. Any voice actor who has enough range to effectively play two opposing characters in a scene is damn good at their job. So my hat’s off to him.

Ben and Betty in Hell, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Rewriting Historhy

Ben and Betty accidentally damage a “mega transporter,” and wind up teleported to various places around the cosmos. It’s a green screen effect, of course. The first place they’re teleported is to an erupting volcano (shown above). In that moment, a brilliant idea for a spin-off miniseries popped into my head: Ben and Betty in Hell.

Dark? Yes. But you know it’d be damn interesting. Damn interesting.

The Red Ranger and Vargoyle have an extended fight scene in a long corridor. They even fight upside down on the ceiling for a few seconds, which is pretty cool.

Ever see the famous hallway fight sequence from the first season of Daredevil? This corridor fight brought it to mind. They’re two completely different animals, obviously. But this almost felt like the Power Rangers take on a hallway fight.

Wait, Steel gives up his new dog at the end because he supposedly doesn’t have time to take care of him? That’s pretty lame. Why not just give the character a dog? From a creative standpoint, it’s not like you’d have to show it that often. Plus, I like the idea of a robot with a pet dog. It’s just silly enough to belong in the Power Rangers universe.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Ranger Reveal” Review

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E17 – “Ranger Reveal”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Denise Downer
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: November 16, 2019
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers face the threat of their identities being made public.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Early in the episode, Ben and Betty are catapulted into the back of a truck filled with leaves via a giant selfie stick. I almost hate to keep comparing these modern comedic duos to Bulk and Skull from Mighty Morphin. But they’re the precedent they’re all following. So I think it’s fair.

Bulk and Skull got into messy and cartoony situations, obviously. But I don’t remember them defying the laws of physics and reality the way cartoons do, and the way Ben and Betty sometimes do. That would be my one big criticism of what they do on this show. I’d argue that even little kids understand the basic rules of reality, and if you bend the rules of reality too far, it takes the viewer out of the moment.

In other words, the less likely it is that something can happen in the real world, the less funny it is. Just my opinion.

Vargoyle is voiced by Jamie Linehan, who also does Steel. Once you know that, it becomes difficult not to hear Steel when Vargoyle is talking. Even though Vargoyle’s voice does have more of that trademark Power Rangers villain growl.

Zoey and the other Rangers clearly don’t want their identities revealed to the public. And yet, they sit out in public with Steel. They’re the only ones hanging out with a friggin’ robot!!! How big a secret could their identities possibly be?!?

Still, I appreciated that they established how much more difficult it would be for the Rangers to do their jobs if they were famous. It was a nice way to set up stakes for the episode.

What we have here is a nice build on what we saw established in previous episodes, with Zoey’s mom (played by Sia Trokenheim) being a reporter. We had a nice message about her doing the right thing despite what it could do for her career. But this episode poses a similar question to the one posed by “Taking Care of Business” from an in-universe perspective: Why can’t Zoey just tell her mom she’s a Power Ranger?

Granted, we know why she can’t from a writing standpoint: Because that’s not how superheroes and secret identities work. Plus, the conflict makes for a good TV episode. But Zoey confiding in her mom would nip the problem in the bud pretty quickly.

Oh well. I’d wager their identities get revealed at the end of the series anyway. That’s often what happens on this show.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Silver Sacrifice” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

*** You know what I am? A multi-tasker. That’s why, as Power Rangers Dino Fury is in full swing, I’ll also be looking back at Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Why? Because I can!!!***

Evox, Steel, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Silver SacrificeSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
TITLE: S26:E9 – “Silver Sacrifice”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Riccardo Pellizzeri
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: September 14, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Evox’s forces want Steel’s robot body to house the villainous virus. But Nate isn’t willing to give up his new brother so easily.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Early in the episode, Nate and Steel go jogging. Because that’s apparently what you do when you’re a Power Ranger and have a robot buddy. It’s only two brief shots. But what I love is that toward the end of the second one, right before the cut, we see another jogger come into the frame. If you watch him, you’ll notice he turns his head back to look at Nate and Steel. I absolutely love the notion that this man went out for a jog one day and just happened to pass a boy and his robot doing the same thing.

In the previous episode, one of the other Rangers flat out said Nate “isn’t a fighter.” And yet in this episode, he’s throwing spin kicks. That must be one hell of a training program they’ve got at Grid Battleforce.

Nate, Steel, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Silver Sacrifice

Personally, I’d have borrowed from what they did with Billy way back in season one of MMPR. Have Nate bumble his way through unmorphed fights, and gradually build up his martial arts expertise.

The Rangers are all sneaky when they approach the warehouse where they’re keeping the Cybergate. But when General Burke and the Grid Battleforce troops arrive, they pull up in a pair of SUVs wearing full gear. So much for subterfuge. And low and behold, Ben and Betty get captured. Why were they brought along anyway? This guy seems like he sucks at his job…

Incidentally, General Burke is played by Mark Wright, a voice actor whose work on the series goes as far back as Ninja Storm in 2003. Beast Morphers marks his first major live action role on the show.

Steel: “You haven’t seen power until you’ve seen the power of family.” Awww, that was a nice line. Hokey, but nice.

LOVED the shots of the Red Ranger fighting off the Tronics in the water. Any time they can take advantage of their environment for the fighting aesthetic, it’s a win in my book.

As the Rangers are having to duck and dodge massive shots from the giant-sized Antennatron, they get a message from Commander Shaw: “Rangers, looks like you’ve got big trouble!”

If there was ever a time on this show for a snarky comeback, it was right there.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.